The sharp increase in demand over the years for wireless services highlights a growing trend of general acceptance for this mode of communication. At the present time, customers obtain wireless service by subscribing with a service provider in their home service area. The home service area is a geographic area in which the subscriber anticipates making the majority of his/her calls, typically at more favorable tariff rates. As wireless communication becomes more prevalent in society, an important aspect that will determine its general acceptance as a universal communication tool is the ability for subscribers to access services irrespective of their location. Given this requisite desire, many independent operators have been compelled to cooperate by forming roaming agreements that permit subscribers to access services of other providers.
Presently, subscribers wishing to access services while roaming into a visiting area must first register with a visiting provider. Access is then allowed if the subscriber's home service provider has a roaming agreement with the visiting provider. Typically, the tariff rates applied to roaming subscribers are generally higher than those applied in the home area since many service providers tack on surcharges to roaming subscribers who access their systems. One of the problems with the current scheme is that it is difficult for subscribers to know precisely what the tariff rate is being charged while accessing services and how that compares with competing providers in an unfamiliar area. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that tariff rates may change frequently due to competitive pressures and in response to dynamic factors such as current traffic load etc. Furthermore, subscribers may be unaware of the terms stipulated in the roaming agreements negotiated by their home providers thus adding to the price uncertainty. Consequently, in the current competitive environment where there may be as many as four, five or more providers in a geographic area, there currently exists no easy way for subscribers to obtain tariff information in order to choose, for example, the lowest cost provider. It should be noted that the notion of obtaining "tariff information" is used interchangeably with obtaining "tariff rates" in the subsequent description.
In view of the foregoing, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method for obtaining tariff information charged by wireless service providers to mobile subscribers that is relatively efficient and convenient.